Applications for MPEG digital video compression technology are expanding, particularly in portable devices, according to In-Stat. As a result, shipments of MPEG ICs, which support compression and decompression of digital video, will reach 2 billion units by 2013.

“Compression technology continues to improve, offering lower bit rates and higher quality, as well as lower cost and power,” said Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst, in a statement. “H.264 compression is finding a home in most new MPEG ICs targeting both line-powered and mobile devices.”

In-Stat said that MPEG IC market share differs among the various types of line-powered consumer electronics, such as set top boxes, TVs, and DVD equipment. H.264 compression has superseded MPEG-2 in many line-powered applications. The Scalable Video Codec (SVC) extension to the H.264 is a major enhancement coming to the MPEG digital video system.

With the standardisation of 3D Blu-ray, multiview video coding (MVC), another extension of H.264, gains in importance.